Angularly adjustable handle for paint rollers and the like



Jan. 7, 1969 F. w. WILLIG 3,419,931

- ANGULARLY ADJUSTABLE HANDLE FOR PAINT ROLLERS AND THE LIKE I FiledMarch a, 1967 United States Patent 3,419,931 ANGULARLY ADJUSTABLE HANDLEFOR PAINT RQLLERS AND THE LIKE Frederick W. Willig, 815 Elliott Ave.,Santa Rosa, Calif. 95401 Filed Mar. 8, 1967, Ser. No. 621,574 US. Cl.15144 Int. Cl. A46b 5/02; B05c 1/00; B25g 3/38 ABSTRACT OF THEDISCLOSURE A paint roller mechanism in which the handle of the paintroller is pivotal with respect to the roller. The pivotal connectionbetween the roller and the handle comprises a fiat washer of africtional material interposed between two plate members, one of whichis secured to the handle and the other of which is secured to a bracketon which a roller is mounted. A pivot bolt extends through the platemembers and washer and holds them in compression. Because of this joint,the handle is pivotal through a range of angles with respect to theroller and yet the provision of the frictional material assures that thehandle will remain at any angle to which it is adjusted.

Background of the invention This invention relates to a paint rollermechanism for supporting a paint applying roller at various anglesrelative to a handle and, more particularly, to such a paint rollermechanism in which the angular relationship of the handle to the paintroller can be easily varied over a continuous range of angles and yetrigidly maintained at any particular angular relationship.

Paint applying rollers are finding increasing use as a means forapplying paint to walls or the like because of the speed and ease bywhich paint can be applied with them. There are, however, many instancesin which painters still prefer using conventional paint brushes. Forexample, brushes are generally used in painting a wall adjacent aceiling, or around door and window casings. This is so because to paintwith a paint roller wall areas immediately below a ceiling and abovecasings, it is necessary to pass the roller horizontally across thewall. Conventional rollers, though, are designed such that when theroller is moved horizontally, the handle thereof projectsperpendicularly straight out from the roller. With such an arrangement,a painter cannot move a roller horizontally across a wall above shoulderheight with any case and effectiveness. With rollers, therefore, itwould be necessary for ladders or scaffolding to be used to reach areasabove shoulder height such as close to the ceiling and above doors. Forthis reason, they have not been generally accepted for use in such areasand other hard-to-reach places.

In an attempt to circumvent this problem, paint roller mechanisms havebeen designed in which the handle can be adjusted to various angles withrespect to the paint roller. However, none of these designs have beenacceptable for one or more reasons. Some of such designs have permittedadjustment of the handle angle to only certain predetermined angles.Because of the various heights of walls and different placement ofcasings therein the use for rollers with this type of adjustable handleis limited. While several paint roller mechanisms have been provided inwhich a continuous angular adjustment of the handle can be obtained,these have not been so designed that the handle will remain rigidly atany angle to which it is adjusted with the result that the roller willalways tend to pivot so that it will be fiat against a wall. Thisprecludes use of the edge of the roller for applying paint to missedspots, etc. Other designs have required a time consuming and Sometimesdifficult manipulation to make an angular change.

Summary of the invention The instant invention provides a paint rollermechanism which includes a pivotal joint by which the angularrelationship of the handle to the roller can be varied over a continuousrange of angles and yet will rigidly maintain the handle at anyparticular chosen angle. Moreover, no complex manipulation is requiredto change the handle angle. In its basic aspects, the structuralembodiment of the invention is a pivotal joint interconnecting the paintroller handle with a bracket secured to the axle for the roller. Thejoint includes two plate members, one of which is secured to thebracket, the other which is secured to the handle. These plate membersare pivotally secured together and at least one of them has a surfacewhich is adapted to frictionally engage a friction means during pivotalmovement therebetween.

From the above, and as will become more apparent hereinafter, it will beseen that the pivot joint of the instant paint roller mechanism allowsadjustment against the friction force provided by the friction means ofthe handle angle over a continuous range of angles. Moreover, thefriction means holds the handle substantially rigid with respect to theroller at any angle to which it is adjusted. It accomplishes theforegoing while yet the manipulation required to make the adjustment issimple in that it can be made by just exerting a pivoting force on thehandle which is sufficient to overcome the friction provided by thefriction means.

Brief description of the drawing tion can be used to paint a wallclosely adjacent to a ceiling.

Description of the preferred embodiments Referring to FIGURES l and 2, apaint roller mechanism of the invention is generally referred to by thereference numeral 11. Such mechanism includes an axle 12 which issuitably adapted in any conventional manner to have a cylindrical paintapplying roller 13 rotatably mounted thereon. Such mounting can includea nut 14 at the free end of the axle and a suitable spacer (not shown)at the other end for normally preventing any substantial axial movementof the roller on axle 12 while allowing rotational movement thereof. Abracket 15 is secured to axle 12 at the end thereof opposite nut 14 andincludes an end rod 16 extending radially of the roller from the axle.An arm 17 is right angularly secured to end rod 16 and extends parallelin spaced relation to axle 12. The space between axle 12 and arm 17 issufficient to permit free rotation of roller 13 on the axle and arm 17extends for approximately half the length of axle 12. Such arm 17terminates in a stem 18 which extends radially of roller 13 outwardlyand parallel to end rod 16. Stem 18 is for the purpose of connecting thehandle 19 to bracket 15 and, hence, to the axle and roller. Axle 12, endrod 16, arm 17 and stem 18 are desirably all one rod which is 3appropriately bent to define these parts and which, in toto, isgenerally a U-shaped support for the roller.

Handle 19 includes a hand grip portion 21 which is suitably adapted forsecurance thereto of an extension rod or the like such as by means ofthe threaded bore 22 at the free end thereof. A shaft 23 projects fromthe other end of grip 21 to provide means for securing the handle to theabove described U-shaped support arrangement for the paint roller.

In accordance with the invention, the connection between handle 23 andbracket is by means of a pivot joint 24 which in its basic aspectscomprises two plate members 26 and 27 respectively connected to shaft 23and stem 18. Each plate member 26 and 27 has a planar surface 28 and 29,respectively, in opposed confronting relation to that of the other. Afriction means such as the flat washer 31 is interposed between theplanar surfaces of the plate members. The material of washer 31 can beof any type which will present a somewhat resilient frictional surfaceto the planar surfaces. For example it can be of rubber, neoprene, orother synthetic material. Clamping means such as bolt 32 and nut 33pivotally connect together plate 26, washer 31, and plate 27.

It is because of this structure just described that the pivotal joint ofthe invention will permit adjustment of the angular relationship betweenthe handle and the roller over a continuous range of angles and yetmaintain the handle rigidly at any particular chosen angle. Because thesliding surfaces between the plate members and the washer are planar,the plate members and washer can be at any relative pivotal relationshipto one another. Thus the handle can be adjusted to any angle withrespect to the roller except for those in which the handle and rollerstructure will interfere. The resistance of the plate members to pivotalmovement will depend upon the axial compression force provided on theplate members and washer 31 by bolt 32 and nut 33. It will thus be seenthat bringing the nut 33 to a proper amount of tightness, an optimumcondition will be reached where the angular relationship between the twoplate members, and hence between the handle and the roller, will stay ata selected position during painting but yet the angle can be adjusted byproviding a pivoting force on the handle which is greater than thatusually provided during painting and suflicient to overcome the frictionopposing such pivoting. Since the amount of force necessary to providethis optimum condition is going to depend upon the particular frictionwasher and the wishes of each user, the nut 33 is desirably of aself-locking type which can be loosened if desired. Each user can theneither intentionally tighten or loosen the same to obtain the force hedesires, but once a particular position is chosen for the nut it willtend to remain there even after repeated pivoting of the joint. Thus,once the desired optimum condition is achieved it is not necessary tomake further adjustment.

FIGURE 4 shows use of a paint roller of the invention in painting a wallclosely adjacent to the joint between it and a ceiling. Because of theprovision of the joint, the painter is able to reach and paint thisportion of the wall without a ladder. More particularly, an extension 37is secured to the handle 19 so that the painter can hold the roller atceiling height. The joint permits the roller to be moved horizontalywith respect to the wall at such height by the extension. It will berecognized that without the joint, the handle 19 would be extending outfrom the roller parallel to the ceiling and the painter would have to beon a ladder or scaffolding to paint the area in the manner shown.

While in the preferred embodiment being described, both plate member 26and plate member 27 have planar surfaces adapted to frictionally engagewith planar surfaces of washer 31, it is only necessary that one have asurface which is adapted to frictionally engage a friction means duringpivotal movement. For example, the washer 31 could be suitably adheredto one of the plate members so that it would always move with the same.Then the frictional engagement during pivoting would be between thewasher and the surface of the other plate member.

Considering now the pivotal joint of the invention in more detail, it isseen that each of the plate members 26 and 27 includes a generally discshaped portion 35 which defines the respective planar surfaces 28 and29. A square bolt receiving aperture 34 extends through each platemember centrally of the disc shaped portion. Bolt 32 is a square neckcarriage bolt and the aperture 34 of the plate member 27 receives thesquare neck thereof. The threaded poriton of such bolt extends throughthe central apertures 36 of washer 31 and through aperture 34 of platemember 26. While it will be recognized that it is not necessary thatboth bolt receiving apertures 34 be square, they are so in order thatplates 26 and 27 are identical for the sake of expediency inmanufacturing and assembly. Nut 33 is threadably received on the end ofbolt 32, and, as stated before, is desirably of the selflocking typewhich can be intentionally loosened. An example of such a nut is one inwhich one end thereof has a deformable plastic collar insert which willbe threaded by the bolt to which the nut is applied.

The manner by which the pivot joint of the embodiment shown in FIGURES land 2 is secured to bracket stem 18 and handle shaft 23 will now bedescribed. Since the connection between plate 26 and handle shaft 23 isidentical to the connection between plate 27 and roller bracket stem 18,only the former will be described and like parts in each connection arereferred to by like reference numerals. Plate member 26 includes a shank39 which extends from its disc portion 35 and connects it to a bracketportion 41. Bracket portion 41 includes a semi-cylindrical rod receivingchannel 42 and a separate bracket member 43 includes a complementarysemi-circular channel 44. Bracket member 43 is adapted for securance tothe plate member 43 with such channels in Clamping relation to handleshaft 23. More particularly, bolt holes 46 on each side of the channelportion of bracket 44 register with similar bolt holes 47 on each sideof the channel portion 42 of plate member 26. Bolts 48 extend throughsuch registered bolt holes and nuts 51 are threadably received on theirfree ends to provide clamping of such plate member to shaft 23. Stem 18is similarly clamped to plate 27 by a clamping portion 41 and a separateclamping member 43.

The above described connection of the pivot joint to bracket item 18 andhandle shaft 23 permits incorporation of the invention into existingpaint rollers. In most existing rollers, stem 18 and shaft 23 are oneintegral rod. To effect the modification, this rod need only be cut intwo and the resulting ends thereof clamped to the plates 26 and 27 ofthe joint by the clamping member 43.

FIGURE 3 depicts a factory assembled embodiment of the invention inwhich the pivotal joint is integrally connected to a stem 18' and ahandle shaft 23'. More particularly, this embodiment does not includethe bracket arrangement securing the stern and shaft to the jointconnection, but rather, each of the plate members 52 and 53 includes andoutwardly extending shank 54 to which stem 18 and shaft 23 arerespectively suitably welded. Insofar as the pivotal joint itself isconcerned, this embodiment of the invention is identical to that shownin FIGURES 1 and 2 and like parts are referred to by like numerals whichare primed.

What is claimed is:

1. A paint roller mechanism for supporting a paint roller at variousangles relative to a handle, comprising an axle adapted to have acylindrical paint applying roller mounted thereon for rotation about itscylindrical axis, a bracket secured to an end of said axle and includinga stem disposed generally normal to said axis, a handle for said rollerincluding a shaft, a pair of plate members each having opposedconfronting surfaces, a resilient washer interposed between saidconfronting surfaces, clamping means securing said plate memberstogether with said washer positioned therebetween and permittingrelative pivotal movement of said palte members with said washerproviding a frictional resistance to such movement, said plate memberseach having a portion extending in diametrically opposite directionsfrom said pivotal clamping means, a pair of generally coplanar clampingbrackets attached to the respective portions of said plate members withsaid stem and said shaft interposed and clamped between the platemembers and clamping brackets whereby upon relative pivotal movement ofsaid plate members the angular relationship between said shaft and saidstem will be varied.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3/1893 Richardson 28714 XR 5/1949Mygas 15146 XR 5/1951 Draughn 15-144 12/1957 Zellinger 15-230.11 9/1959Huhtala 15-23011 9/1966 Mazzella 15144 FOREIGN PATENTS 12/1897 GreatBritain. 11/ 1965 Great Britain.

DANIEL BLUM, Primary Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R.

